CHAPTER 9

“Does your older brother also live here? I live in apartment 301. Or did you just move here?”

Eunhye had a likable charm about her. And she didn’t even try to hide her curiosity about Ijun.

Ijun, with his handsome face and a height of 186 cm, was undeniably an attractive man even from a purely objective standpoint. It wasn’t strange at all for Eunhye to be interested in him.

The problem was that in her previous life, Eunhye had first met Ijun at her and Gwihyeon’s wedding. But in this current life, Eunhye had met Ijun before Gwihyeon, and their meeting had happened much sooner.

Seeing Eunhye showing interest in Ijun, Siyeon felt an unexplainable restlessness, and her palms began to sweat.

“You live in apartment 301?”

“Yes.”

Ijun glanced briefly at Siyeon, then turned his gaze back to Eunhye when he saw that she didn’t react.

“What does your father do?”

“He’s the company president.”

“Do you have an older brother or a younger brother?”

“No, I’m alone.”

Eunhye answered without hesitation, even in the face of Ijun’s somewhat impolite question. Personal questions from someone she just met might have been uncomfortable, yet strangely, his questions seemed almost welcome.

“So, oppa, are you a college student? Which apartment do you live in?”

“I’m a student preparing for college entrance exams. I don’t live here but my grandmother lives in this villa.”

Eunhye couldn’t help but look a bit disappointed upon hearing that Ijun was a student preparing for university, but she didn’t completely lose interest in him.

“Is your grandmother in apartment 302, by any chance? I’m really close to that grandmother. I’m actually on my way to her house right now, she said she’d make me some samgyetang.”

Samgyetang = Ginseng chicken soup

Ijun glanced at Siyeon as if he was curious about her grandmother’s apartment number, but she only turned her head to the side without saying a word.

“No, she’s not.”

It seemed that the grandmother had gone shopping earlier and was planning to make samgyetang for Eunhye. It wasn’t particularly surprising for Siyeon, but it didn’t make her feel great either.

“So, where do you live then, oppa?”

“Suwon.”

“Suwon in Gyeonggi Province? How far is that from here?”

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

As Siyeon observed their conversation, she suddenly recalled how Eunhye had disliked meeting Ijun in the past.

She wondered what might have happened if the Eunhye, who had been married to Gwihyeon, had met Ijun first.

“Oppa, but why can’t she speak?”

Eunhye gestured toward Siyeon. In that moment, Siyeon’s body flinched.

“Why do you care whether she can speak or not?”

In truth, from the moment Siyeon had seen Eunhye earlier, she had already been in a withered state, both physically and emotionally.

The image of Eunhye, who had resorted to evil, kept overlapping with her image now. It was as if Siyeon had been transported back to her past, to her depressed self.

“Unnie? I’m a sophomore in high school now.”

“What month were you born in?”

“December.”

“What day in December?”

“Stop it, Ijun-oppa.”

Siyeon, who had been lost in thought, quickly interrupted their conversation. It would be troublesome if Ijun found out that their birthdays were the same. Too many coincidences and similarities could easily lead to unnecessary suspicions.

“Why are you like this? I’m just trying to make you friends.”

Ijun’s expression showed he wasn’t pleased with Siyeon’s interruption. He seemed to be trying to insist that Siyeon was the older sister by pointing out her birthday, but Siyeon didn’t want anything to do with it.

“Oh? You can talk? So, are you also a sophomore in high school?”

Eunhye widened her eyes and tilted her head in surprise.

“…I’ll go ahead.”

Siyeon didn’t answer Eunhye’s question and turned to walk away. Her initial surprise upon seeing Eunhye was short-lived, and now, a sense of disappointment towards Ijun had filled her heart.

In the past, he had asked her to go to the United States together, and he had assured her that Gwihyeon wasn’t the only one in the Jeong family. Yet, now, Ijun was getting along effortlessly with Eunhye, whom he had just met.

Seeing the sharp-tongued and gruff Ijun getting along so smoothly with Eunhye brought a suffocating feeling to her chest.

It wasn’t the first time this had happened. The parents in Ichon-dong had been like that, and so had Gwihyeon. Even people who were close to her had been like that, so it wasn’t even baffling why Ijun, who hadn’t been particularly close with her, would be any different.

Siyeon felt so disappointed in herself for being let down by Ijun that tears threatened to well up in her eyes.

“Where are you going?”

“I have to go home.”

Ijun quickly caught up with Siyeon. Feelings of relief and sadness alternated, pounding in her chest.

“About that girl in apartment 301, it’s definitely the first time I’ve seen her, but why does she feel so familiar?”

“…”

‘It’s because she resemble my parents in Ichon-dong.’

The sentence that she could never say aloud echoed in her mind.

“She’s quite bold. Trying to get my phone number, someone she had just met. Is that how kids these days are?”

“Maybe she liked you, oppa. So, did you gave it to her?”

“Well, I was curious about a few things, so.”

“…”

Siyeon’s steps came to an abrupt halt. Ijun stopped alongside her.

She slowly lifted her gaze from the ground to meet Ijun’s eyes. Unlike her complex expression, he had an unaffected look on his face.

In retrospect, it was strange and amusing that she felt hurt despite the fact that she and Ijun had no connection whatsoever. Moreover, if she were to be rational, the person who should be receiving his favor was Eunhye, not herself. Yet, she still found herself hoping that Ijun, who had remained unchanged in her past life, would be the same in this one as well.

“…Why did you come to Hannam-dong?”

Siyeon asked in a calm voice. Her mood had settled, and her voice flowed even lower than usual.

“Why did you come here, when you’re not particularly close to your grandma?”

Ijun was suspicious of Siyeon’s reason, too, for coming to Hannam-dong.

Could it be that Gwihyeon mentioned something to him?

But since Ijun didn’t reveal his inner thoughts, she couldn’t know for sure.

“Why do you think I’m not close to grandma?”

“It’s funny how she sends her own granddaughter away, claiming she has an appointment, while making samgyetang for the neighbor’s kid.”

Siyeon was certain that Ijun overheard her conversation between her and grandma. He had witnessed Siyeon’s grandma’s dismissive attitude toward Siyeon.

What was he thinking when he denied that grandma didn’t live in apartment 302? Embarrassment reddened her face.

“You could pretend you didn’t see that.”

Embarrassment soon turned into anger.

“I never had any intention to pretend I knew.”

“Well then, you should’ve kept pretending not to know until the end.”

She couldn’t bear the anger any longer. But her anger wasn’t because of her grandma, in fact, it was because Ijun had given his phone number to Eunhye. Her expectation that he would simply ignore her had been betrayed.

“Why are you so angry?”

“Because I feel embarrassed that I showed such a pathetic side to others.”

“Am I just ‘others’ to you?”

“Well, technically we’re not, but we’re going to be future in-laws.”

Unable to contain herself, she let out her childish and blunt thoughts. In that moment, Siyeon realized that she possessed a talent for sarcasm just as good as Ijun’s.

“…Seriously, you’re unbelievable.”

He laughed with a smug expression. Then, he slowly licked his dry lower lip with his tongue and gazed down at her.

“…I was trying to stay quiet, but you stirred things up.”

Ijun took a half step toward her.

“It’s not just Gwihyeon-hyung in the Jeong family.”

Another half step.

“You act all regretful about not being able to see me once I go to the States, and now you’re here using the term “in-law’ in front of me?”

“…”

Feeling scared, Siyeon backed away slightly. Ijun, who was at least a head taller than her, was intimidating enough just by getting closer.

She looked up at him with an anxious gaze, and a single tear that had been teetering on the edge of her eye since earlier rolled down her cheek. It wasn’t sadness that she felt; it was a more complex emotion, one that she couldn’t even fully understand the meaning of.

In that moment, his right hand cup her face and let out a deep sigh. Then, he frowned and looked down at her again. His gaze held a hint of regret as he gazed at her.

“Tell me the reason I made you angry, and I’ll apologize.”

Having gathered his emotions, he spoke calmly. Ijun, who hadn’t even apologized after throwing a fish at her when they were kids, had now grown into an adult who knew how to apologize.

But, Siyeon couldn’t honestly explain the reason for her anger. Instead, she slightly softened her expression and opened her mouth.

“…Why did you come to Hannam-dong?”

Ijun’s face became quite awkward upon her question.

“…First of all, I’ll make it clear that this is something only Hyung and I know.”

“So, Gwihyeon-oppa mentioned the story about President Choi Won-dae in Hannam-dong.”

Siyeon had already guessed as much.

“It wasn’t something Hyung told me, I found out accidentally while dealing with something else. You mentioned being indebted to someone, and I was curious why a mere high school student like you would repay a favor so grandly. And if there was anything bad happening to you… I couldn’t just ignore it.”

“So, you purposely came to Mr. Choi’s house?”

“I didn’t even know you were here. And I certainly didn’t know your grandmother lived nearby.”

In truth, he hadn’t done anything wrong to her. So, there was no need to speak with such an apologetic tone. Ijun would likely never imagine that she was angry at him due to jealousy she felt towards Eunhye.

“…Someone used to tell me that I’m hopeless and unlucky.”

“Who the hell said that kind of stuff to you?”

Ijun’s face changed in an instant, his eyes flashed, and he raised his voice abruptly.

“Even though they say that, in reality, they’ve been really good to me. They’ve always been there for me when times were tough.”

“Who were you in a relationship with?”

Ijun tilted his head while locking eyes with her. His expression was annoyed, and he didn’t seem to be in a good mood. Siyeon averted her gaze.

“No one. I wasn’t dating anyone, and we weren’t even anything more than acquaintances. So, why was that person so kind to me?”

“Why wouldn’t they? Obviously, they liked you.”

“…”

In that moment, tears welled up in Siyeon’s eyes.

In truth, she had sensed Ijun’s feelings for her in the past. Yet, she had pretended not to notice. To think that she, who had been engaged to Gwihyeon, would look at Ijun that way, seemed absurd.

But now, she regretted it. Why hadn’t she recognized his unwavering sincerity even once? Why did she only think of him on the verge of death?

“…Are you crying?”

“…”

“Kim Siyeon.”

Siyeon hugged Ijun tightly, placing resting her forehead against his chest as she sobbed.

Had Ijun been deeply saddened after she died? The thought of past Ijun never knowing her regrets and feelings of guilt was too painful for her to bear.